Thanks for the detail info.
And it kind of remind me AlexB's preamp color suit, but
with his upgrade process, the link is off. Although the direction is different.

"They(Roland) used this process to model microphones,
microphone proximity, and microphone preamps and signal stages. These products preceeded those by Antares, F*******e, and others. Although there are aspects of this technology that have been remarkably improved in recent years (Nebula!!!)" from CDSoundMaster
This misled me that you released a "Microphone Modeller Nebula program" which is better than the old product by Antares.

It's intersting to know Nebula could copy the original harmonics from digital simulated one and interpret in a better way. Please share with us the detail of improvements.

Hi,
I think you are misinterpreting some things.
I gave some short background into things Roland has done, including the use of COSM for mic modeling, mic preamp modeling, cabinets and guitars and amps and drums. This gives some overview background on Roland.

Specifics on the new release are stated clearly:

""This Nebula release proudly recreates the high-points of the now discontinued MMP-2 in a more advanced VVKT format...These programs focus upon the mixer channel/microphone preamp emulations, tube and solid state emulations, and instrument preset programs that combine harmonics with eq recommended for recording anything from vocals to trumpets, viola to nylon guitar."

I personally don't see the connection with the color suite (which I'm sure is an excellent collection!). I don't think this should be compared to that, as this is inside a single hardware with an engine that produces different results versus a collection of some analog devices sampled just for their particular sound.

VVKT is a different process. It is a more advanced process than what I've studied inside the MMP-2. I like the sound of the MMP-2's programs. Despite being driven by an emulation concept, it still has a very unique sound all its own. I'm not going to go into every detail of the process, but several things are done to achieve what I think is the best sound from the unit:
1. It is sampled through the balanced analog connections so that the emulation portion of the hardware is reacting based upon an analog signal as opposed to an all-digital signal. This gives the advanced VVKT interpretation of the dynamics of the analog signal combined with the COSM modeling that is taking place, which means Nebula is able to take into account a dynamically changing range of sound not just from the emulating process but from the natural analog ins and outs as well.
2. This collection does not reproduce the mic modeling aspect of the unit, as I believe this was a concept only helpful for someone using the preamp with a limited mic choice. It has its novelty feature and sounds fine, but it will not turn the source into a different source. The pre-amplification emulation, on the other hand, is all additive, and is quite nice. It is worthy of editing and tweaking to produce the result in Neb form.
3. Sections of sounds are edited towards the best Neb result. I think they sound nicer in some cases than the original unit in its preset form. The VVKT capture of the analog ins and outs added to COSM I think help add some extra real dimension. If my goal was to simply copy the harmonic content from the MMP-2 into Nebula, I could do this digitally and once the levels and parameters are set to match their best, it would capture pretty much 100% without change. I feel that the process I decided upon sounds nicer than that would, and the extra information fed into more dynamics and dynamically changing kernels makes for a better collection.
4. I think there are situations where outboard gear makes sense to interpret in Nebula even if part of it is digital. For instance, high end reverb programs, or a HEDD.

All in all, for those who are interested in this for its place in recent technological history, for use of many good sounding programs for instrument sources, and for a unique source of sounds based upon preamps and channels solely based upon the nice sound and not based on the expense of the source gear, I think this has been well worth the time to sample and I know I am already finding it useful.

Personal favorites: I am pleased with several of the instrument settings even on pre-recorded instruments that were well recorded. I work with a lot of acoustic instruments from the orchestra for composition, and items like the flute, oboe, and strings are very nicely defined.

My absolute favorite programs are the Red7 and HHTube.
I customized these and the SolidState and Tube preamps to a nice sound I think. The Red7 is incredible on heavy mixes, with lots of drum and guitar. The 1073 is super nice, and the HHTube is very sweet as well. They definitely have the flavor of the originals, but perhaps they bring something unique that is their own.

But, I do want to reiterate that I know this release isn't for everyone. I don't think everyone needs this library and I don't want anyone to feel pressured to buy something. The free programs are not limited from the original quality in any way, so it can't hurt to have nice new programs for free at the least. I felt like this would be the right time to release this collection, as there are more individual analog releases coming, so this feels like the right time to give some nice recognition to a nice hardware item that is not very well known. For people that are only interested in high end analog hardware, I recommend to be on the look-out for something soon !!!

vicnestE wrote:Thanks for the detail info.
And it kind of remind me AlexB's preamp color suit, but
with his upgrade process, the link is off. Although the direction is different.

"They(Roland) used this process to model microphones,
microphone proximity, and microphone preamps and signal stages. These products preceeded those by Antares, F*******e, and others. Although there are aspects of this technology that have been remarkably improved in recent years (Nebula!!!)" from CDSoundMaster
This misled me that you released a "Microphone Modeller Nebula program" which is better than the old product by Antares.

It's intersting to know Nebula could copy the original harmonics from digital simulated one and interpret in a better way. Please share with us the detail of improvements.

I knew this pack was designed for each instruments, and the figures of preamp reminded me Preamp Color Suit.
MMP2 is capable of more than simple preamp color, and the various kernels is very thoughtful.

From the audio demos, these programs actually reduced LOTS of harshness when applied to each source. Very impressive!!
Maybe this could be another cheaper choice for console simulation??

I'll be announcing the new series very, very soon.
I'm excited about this. Each time I get to this stage near completion in a Nebula project, I feel like it is all new, for the first time, bc it is amazing how well real analog translates in Neb!